Managers at Oxfordshire's largest NHS trust have backed Government plans to clean up dirty hospitals to stamp out killer superbugs.

Health Secretary John Reid has called on patients to complain about hygiene, as part of the fight against MRSA infections picked up in hospitals.

His comments were applauded by the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust, which last year had one of the worst rates of MRSA in the UK.

Methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus has reached epidemic levels in the past few years.

Some strains are resistant to almost all known antibiotics and fighting them costs the NHS an estimated £1bn a year.

Dr Reid said: "We have to be more open about this and therefore I think we have to find some means of telling patients just how well or badly hospitals are doing.

"Patients should not be embarrassed about saying to hospital staff, this isn't clean, would you please clean it?"

Department of Health figures last year showed the ORH ranked 14th worst for superbug infections, with an MRSA rate of 0.29 cases per 1,000 bed days. That was up on the previous year, with a total of 114 infections reported in 2002-03 compared with 92 in 2001-02.

ORH deputy chief nurse Michael Fanning said: "We welcome any new proposals on the management of MRSA in our hospitals.

"We were one of the first hospitals in the country to implement the Handy Hygiene Campaign, which includes making alcohol hand rubs available to all staff. We continue to teach and train our staff in hand hygiene.

"We are also country-wide leaders in the introduction of ward housekeepers, who have demonstrated significant improvements in overall cleanliness on the wards.

He added: "We actively implement national guidance and policies on infection prevention and manage- ment."

The Government is planning to bring in experts from abroad to help the NHS battle against drug-resistant bacteria.

Dr Reid promised better checks to make sure privately run cleaning contractors did not swap high standards for cheapness.